Borrowed Light
by Stethoscopes and Pinards
Summary: Max and Zoe fic


**I really don't know if this works and it's my first attempt at writing a Zax fanfic so hopefully I have it in character. **

It was one of those shifts. The ones where each second seemed to take an eternity to tick by, where you could feel like you had worked through the entire day yet when you glanced at the clock only a brief period had passed you by.

11am. That was the sight that confronted Zoe Hanna as she looked to the clock on the resus room wall. It seemed impossible to her that the majax – the last patient of which she had just had to call – hadn't taken them longer to deal with. When the first patients had been rushed through the doors, she had seen for a moment that look of panic flash in the eyes of her colleagues before the adrenaline started to flood in to their veins. The unknown which was awaiting them. She had seen as around her so many trolleys were wheeled in, patients in varying conditions, seeming to fill each and every space they had and yet now it was over and as the last of the adrenaline seeped from her blood stream, she felt the first signs of exhaustion.

She slipped away from the room as soon as she was able, wanting to seek a moment of solitude in her office. She hoped that it would be empty for once, given now it seemed permanently occupied by Connie - no that wasn't quite correct wherever she chose to be it seemed that Connie would be close at heel, not just the office. Part of her wondered if she should be flattered, perhaps in her time away Connie had developed an affection for the same sex and merely wanted to be as close as possible to Zoe but the more rational part of her knew to be on her guard against whatever scheme the newcomer had up her sleeve.

Thankfully though the office was empty, and she found herself slipping behind her desk, easing her feet free from her shoes. Sighing, she wriggled her feet slightly, trying to get the blood to circulate back down to them. If she could muster the energy to move, she could have killed right now to slip outside for a crafty cigarette but she knew from the grumbles of patients that the weather made this a rather unlikely prospect. Besides which she was not certain she'd get her throbbing feet back in to her shoes for the moment.

"If you wore sensible shoes you'd have less problems," she looked up to see the rather cheeky smile of the porter in front of her. She can't have shut the door over properly and she curses herself under her breath, though she should be thankful that it was only him who had seen her. She flashes a glare in his direction.

"You shouldn't be in here," her voice is low. In part she does it, in hope that he'll heed the warning that this is not the place but she also thinks it'll draw less attention to the room. She watches as he raises an eyebrow, eyes twinkling slightly.

"I thought you could do with a coffee," he brandishes a cup from behind his back, smile even wider to show his obvious pride at the gesture. Flicking out his leg he pushes the door further closed, and walks closer to the desk, placing the drink down.

"Max you …" she trails off, unsure of quite how to admonish him. In truth she is grateful for the gesture, though she is not convinced that such a small cup is going to be enough to revitalise her. No it would be more effective to hook herself up to a caffeine infused IV but that, she knew, was not exactly a good image for the clinical lead. Particularly with Connie watching for any signs of weakness.

"Shouldn't have?" There is such amusement in his tone as he gestures towards the drink, "It's coffee nothing more, unless you want it to be …." There is something so very boyish about him, in the way he moves in front of her and the look in his face.

"More than coffee?" she bites slightly and watches him with curiousity. For a second he furrows his brow as though trying to come up with a suitable response. He stretches slightly, slipping at hand in to his front pocket.

"What is it that every girl wants?" He shifts slightly, waiting or her.

"Let me guess …" she bites her lip for a moment, "it's you, half naked in the store cupboard for a stolen moment,"

"Only half naked?" An eyebrow rises in response, and she laughs lightly at the slightly wounded look on his face before she shrugs her shoulders slightly, "so you don't want it then?"

"Want what?" again she takes the bait he offers her and he grins.

"The thing that every girl wants," he answers, his tone slightly teasing as she studies her. He can be so infuriating and yet she cannot help herself but to like him.

"Do I get to choose which half?" She reaches out and takes a drink from the coffee, surprised that he has actually managed to make it to her standard. It means that he has actually taken the time to do so, and that touches her slightly. Not that it matters really, it's just coffee – and yet...

"Well that depends," he moves closer to her, resting against the side of the desk, "left or right?"

"I'm sorry?" she splutters slightly, and watches as he places something down on to the desk with a rather triumphant grin on his face.

"Left or right?" he lifts his hand to reveal what he had placed there, and he hears Zoe's laughter as she takes in the sight before her.

"You know I don't want to share this right?" He rolls his eyes but he smiles.

"It's all yours," he laughs gently before he leans forwards slightly and places a kiss by her ear whispering. Then without another word he slipped out of her office, just as she reached out and grabbed the chocolate bar he'd left behind. Hearing the rustle of the packet he smiles to himself, before he slips in to the throng of people awaiting whatever the day has left in store.


End file.
